Edward opened one eye as the loudspeaker came on and drew a nail across his forearm until it bled. He wasn't a sadist or a cutter, but he used the  announcements to tell time in some way or another. When the voice did any sort of 'good morning' that went on the right arm, but any alarms went on the right leg. So far he had been here for 37 'good mornings', if they were actually using a 24 hour clock then he had been here a month and a week. There seemed to be an problem every seven good mornings, it was about three good mornings into each new arrival speech that an alarm went off. not surprising given the limits the mind and body can take. 

So how was it that he wasn't a screaming nutjob? It was Magic. He thought about every trick he knew, from sleight of hand to the disappearing elephant. Practice made perfect and he continued to work it out in his head. Sawing an elephant in half would be awesome! 

Perhaps you have heard the story of Major Nesmith. He was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, held in solitary confinement for seven years. They train the soldiers that if they are ever captured and forced into solitary confinement they must activate and engage the mind to keep themselves from going crazy. They are told they must visualize and see themselves doing something that they enjoy doing.
 
So every day Major Nesmith would play a round of golf. It was not just a simple round of golf. It took him 5 hours every day to play this round of golf. Every day he would go to the closet, pull his golf bag out of the closet, count his golf clubs, count his golf balls, make sure his shoes were there. He would visualize cleaning his shoes and getting everything ready to go play a round of golf. He’d put his golf bag into the car; he would drive to the course. He would get out of the car and take his bag. He would walk up and pay his green fee. He would get all ready to tee off. He would select his golf club. He would make the shot. He would watch his shot. He would walk over to the ball….for 5 hours a day he would play a round of golf in his mind. In his mind he visualized all the details of the golf course; from the direction of the wind to the color of the grass, and each day he would play his 18 holes.
 
After seven years, Major Nesmith was released, and he returned home to the United States. Not long afterwards, he was back on his home course. And… although he had not actually played golf in over 7 years, because he had visualized himself playing in his mind, he took several strokes off his previous best score.

This obscure story saved Edwards life daily.